Headphones sometimes get a bad rap in our industry as being unreliable, and quite often that is the case. For example many headphones have strange things going on the bass regions where their sound can be boosted or missing.

However I’ve found that I work best with headphones, and if one is quite careful with output levels (to protect the ears), quality work can be done on them.

I have many pairs but these days I mostly rely on my HD800’s to do most of the heavy lifting. They are the most detailed listening experience I am aware of. Alex Temple first showed me his pair in 2012 and I was hooked.

On occasion they do have bass management issues so I always listen a second time with my pair of Bose Bluetooth Headphones to check the bass – and other levels.

The key with headphones is to really learn them. You must listen to hours of music you know very well to see how they respond.

I do have a pair of monitor speakers (Focal Solos) but they are at Hollywood Scoring Headquarters!